Method and Apparatus for Storage and Insertion of Advertisements

ABSTRACT

A method includes detecting a substitution signal at a set top box device. The method includes inserting an advertisement into a media stream in response to detecting the substitution signal and determining an advertising fee associated with insertion of the advertisement into the media stream. A first advertising fee is determined when the advertisement is a local advertisement for a provider of a product or service and is to be inserted at a first location in the media stream that follows a national advertisement for the product or service. The first advertising fee is higher than a second advertising fee that is associated with insertion of the local advertisement for the provider of the product or service at a second location in the media stream

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application claims priority from and is a continuation ofpatent application Ser. No. 11/828,492, filed on Jul. 26, 2007 andentitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LOCAL STORAGE AND INSERTION OFTELEVISION COMMERCIALS”, which is a divisional application of patentapplication Ser. No. 09/750,105, filed on Dec. 29, 2000 and entitled“METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR LOCAL STORAGE AND INSERTION OF TELEVISIONCOMMERCIALS”, the contents of which are incorporated herein by referencein their entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to a set top box apparatus for receivingmedia broadcast and more particularly to a method and apparatus forselecting and inserting commercial advertisements into a media stream.

BACKGROUND

Since the origin of home television in the 1940's, a primary source ofrevenue for television networks has been through paid advertisementsthat are interspersed between television programming of entertainment ornews information as “commercials” for products and services. Typically15 to 60 seconds in length, television commercials are grouped togetheras pre-defined breaks in the broadcast of a television show, occurringafter every few minutes of television programming. It is known that inevery one hour of television programming, there are approximatelysixteen (16) minutes of commercials. The number of commercials and thetiming between placement of the commercials are often dependent upon thetype of television show (i.e., sporting event, game show, movie, orsitcom) or the format of the program (i.e., live or pre-recorded).

Television advertising is generally more effective when aired duringpopular television programs that are watched by many viewers who areinterested in buying the types of products or services that areadvertised. In determining whether a television program may beappropriate for particular advertisements, advertisers typicallyconsider whether the program attracts large numbers of viewers who arein the same age group, gender, and income level, and have similarinterests with those who tend to purchase the products to be advertised.Selecting the placement of advertising in this manner increases thelikelihood that viewers who watch the advertisement will be interestedin or may otherwise influence household purchasing decisions concerningproducts advertised during the program.

Although the process of selecting advertisements for television programsaccording to viewer demographics can be effective, broadcast televisioncommercial advertising remains inherently inefficient because the sameadvertisement is shown to the entire audience of a television program.For example, while some viewers of a television game show program may beinterested in a television commercial for a convertible automobile,others may be more interested in an advertisement for a minivan or sportutility vehicle. Because a single commercial advertisement cannot betailored to the unique interests of each individual viewer, theadvertisements are usually of little interest to a significant portionof the viewers. As a consequence, commercial advertisements are oftendisregarded by a large percentage of viewers.

Television networks typically reserve a portion of advertising timeslots for local television stations to run advertisements for localbusinesses or public service announcements that affect the localtelevision audience. In the present broadcast system, the same localadvertisement is played to all recipients of the television broadcastsignal, regardless of the viewers' particular locations within thebroadcast area. In many circumstances, this method of local advertisingis inefficient because a local advertisement only applies to viewers inone portion of the broadcast area. For example, although a televisionstation may broadcast commercials to all viewers within a fifteen-mileradial distance of the broadcast tower, a commercial for an automobiledealership that is fifteen miles north of the television station may beirrelevant to a viewer who is located fifteen miles south of thetelevision station. It is highly unlikely that the viewer will buy anautomobile from the advertised dealership if there are many otherdealerships that are more conveniently located. Accordingly, theinability to target advertisements to viewers according to locationwithin a local broadcast area reduces the effectiveness and therebyincreases the cost of local television advertising.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an embodiment of a schematic diagram of a set top boxconfigured to insert locally stored commercials into a media stream;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method for storingtelevision commercial advertisements in a database at a set top box;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of another embodiment of a method for storingtelevision commercial advertisements in a database at a set top box;

FIG. 4 is an illustrative embodiment of a table of a header database ina memory of a set top box;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method for insertingcommercials stored at a set top box into a television program; and

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a method for inserting commercials into atelevision program.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods to identify mobile devices located proximate to anaccess point are disclosed. The disclosed systems and methods may alsoenable identification of a subscriber associated with an identifiedmobile communication device. To illustrate, a user may access a networkusing an electronic device (e.g., a personal computing device or amobile communication device) connected to an access point. The user maysend an unauthorized data request (e.g., an unauthorized download orwebpage access request) to a content provider (e.g., a website) via thenetwork. The unauthorized data request may be detected by a detectionserver coupled to the network. The detection server may send a requestto a mobile communication service provider to identify mobilecommunication devices located proximate to the access point at or nearthe time of the unauthorized data request. Numerous mobile communicationdevices may be identified as proximate to one or more access points inresponse to numerous requests from the detection server. Each requestmay correspond to a different unauthorized data request detected by thedetection server. Information associated with the identified mobilecommunication devices may be stored at a correlation server. Theinformation associated with the identified mobile communication devicesmay include an identifier associated with an unauthorized data requestdetected at the detection server. The correlation server may generatecorrelation data that indicates that a particular mobile communicationdevice was identified as being located proximate to one or more accesspoints when multiple unauthorized data requests occurred. Thecorrelation data may indicate that a subscriber associated with themobile communication device initiated at least some of the multipleunauthorized data requests.

The disclosed system provides a set top box that stores a plurality oftelevision commercials for products or services that have been found tobe of interest to viewers in a household that uses the set top box. Atcommercial breaks during the broadcast of network television programs,the television network indicates when the set top box is authorized toinsert a stored television commercial instead of a broadcast commercial.If the set top box locates a locally stored commercial that isappropriate for the television program and the user, the commercial isinserted into the commercial break. In this manner, the televisioncommercials can be selected to correlate more closely with the viewer'sinterests or location, thereby improving the efficiency andeffectiveness of commercial advertising.

The preferred embodiment of the present disclosure provides a set topbox for a cable television or satellite television system that storestelevision commercials in a local memory and periodically insertscommercials during commercial breaks that have been determined to bepertinent to a viewer's individual interests.

The present disclosure will now be described in more detail withreference to the figures. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a set top box10 according to the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure. Theset top box receives encoded television signals either from satellitereceiver 11 a or cable feed line 11 b, which is fed to atuner/demodulator 12 for receiving digital signals. Thetuner/demodulator 12 tunes to the frequency of a broadcast stream thatis selected by a user. The tuner/demodulator 12 fees into an MPEG-2decoder 13 a in a central processing unit 13 in set top box 10. Thetuner 12 tunes to the frequency of a selected MPEG-2 transport stream,which is then decoded in the MPEG-2 decoder 13 a and fed to thetelevision.

Programming subscription memory 13 b in CPU 13 maintains a list oftelevision stations that are available to the viewer in accordance withthe subscription plan arranged by the user of the set top box. In orderto select a channel, CPU 13 receives infra red (IR) signals from aremote control changer via remote control infra red sensor 15. Theselected signal is decoded and divided into stereo audio and videosignals, which are fed to the television via audio and video line outjacks 16 a and 16 b, respectively. Television programs can be stored forreplay using replay processor 13 c and replay storage 19.

Set top box 10 also includes a network connection/modem 14, by which thebox 10 can transmit and receive data from the cable or satellitetelevision system provider. The network connection may be an ADSL modem.Other upstream transmission devices are also possible, such as a DOCSIScable modem, or a 56K baud modem over a telephone line, but an ADSLconnection is preferred. In known satellite television systems, the settop box initiates a call to the satellite system service provider toprovide billing information and to credit the user's account forpay-per-view or movie-on-demand requests and transactions. As will bedescribed below, a telephone modem can be used in the present disclosureto request and receive television commercials that are to be locallystored in the set top box 10 and inserted during television programmingon the subscriber's television system. An ADSL line is preferred to apresently available 56K baud modem because of the reduced download time.

The set top box 10 of the present disclosure additionally includestelevision commercial advertising detector 17 and commercials database18. Commercials detector 17 detects signals from the satellite or cableline 11 a or 11 b that indicate when the set top box is authorized tosubstitute locally stored commercials during a commercial break. The CPUthen searches for an appropriate, locally stored commercial in theheader database 18 a of the commercials database 18. If an appropriatecommercial is located, it is extracted from main storage 18 b andsubstituted for the regularly scheduled commercial to be transmitted bythe network.

Television broadcasting networks currently transmit a multi-tone audiosignal just prior to the broadcast of certain television commercials.This signal indicates that the advertising time slot is reserved for alocal, rather than national commercial advertisement. Upon detectingthis signal, the local broadcasting network inserts a localadvertisement into the broadcast stream, which is then transmitted toall households that receive television signals from that network.Computer systems at the local television network automatically insertlocal commercials into the broadcasting stream without creating anypause or delay in the broadcasting. The local television networkcomputer systems remove, or “step on” the multi-tone audio signaltransmitted by the national network once it is detected, such that theoperation is usually not perceptible by the viewer.

In the present disclosure, the commercials detector 17 in the set topbox 10 operates similarly to the tone detector system at the localtelevision network stations. Digital signals that are transmitted bysatellite or via cable are encoded in MPEG-2 format. The relevantspecification for the transmission of audio, video, and data is ISO/IEC13818-1. MPEG-2 provides for private data transmission interleaved withthe audio/video data. When a commercial is to be transmitted during acommercial break, an MPEG-2 data signal is transmitted over thebroadcast stream for detection by the commercials detector 17. A signalis then communicated to the CPU 13 to search for another commercial toinsert as a substitute for the commercial that is about to betransmitted. If an appropriate commercial is located in commercialsdatabase 18, the CPU 13 temporarily switches the signal to theaudio/video signal line out 16 a, 16 b to play the inserted commercialinstead of the broadcast commercial. Switching is performed by the CPU,which switches the input of the MPEG-2 decoder from the broadcast streamto the locally stored commercial stream.

The system and method of the present disclosure can be utilized forinserting locally stored commercials in place of national-typeadvertisements, local advertisements, or a mixture of both. If thesystem is configured to enable the set top box to replace a nationaladvertisement, the television network broadcaster must provide either aMPEG-2 encoded data signal, a multi-tone audio signal, or another typeof analog or digital signal or indicator to alert the set top box tosearch for a locally stored commercial for insertion. If the system isconfigured to only replace local advertisements, it may be possible toutilize only the multi-tone signal that is already provided by thenational networks for detection by the local television station.

A method for storing commercials into a set top box that are transmittedover an ADSL line is now described with reference to FIG. 2. In step 23,the set top box initiates a network connection with the network serviceprovider. The television network service provider may be a stand-alone,dedicated dial-in server, or a web server connected to the Internet viathe world wide web. The CPU 13 in the set top box then transmitsidentification information to the service provider in step 24. Theidentification information is a smart card number, or CAS ID(conditional access system ID) affiliated with the set top box.

Alternatively, the identification information could be comprised of aname, code number, or a series of numbers that enable the serviceprovider to identify what types of commercials are to be downloaded intothe set top box local memory. As examples, the identificationinformation may consist of or otherwise include: one or more accountnumbers that uniquely identifies one or more respective users of the settop box; a serial number assigned to the set top box module; or a seriesof codes that correspond to the types of commercials that are pertinentto users of the particular set top box, or television programs that havebeen recently watched by users of the set top box. In a system forinserting commercials for local businesses, the identificationinformation may include either the household address for the set top boxor the region in which the set top box is located within the localbroadcast area.

If the service provider receives a smart card number, CAS ID, or aserial number or account number, the information is then applied to adatabase at the server side, which then extracts the one or more codescorresponding to commercials that are pertinent to the accountholders.The service provider then transmits encoded signals of televisioncommercials, which are received into the set top box in step 25. Thecommercial data is transmitted as encoded MPEG-2 (ISO/IEC 13818-2)files. In step 26, the transmitted commercial data is stored incommercials database 18 b for later playback. Commercial identificationinformation is separately transmitted and received, or is otherwiseextracted from the transmitted signals and stored in step 27 in headerdatabase 18 a.

If the set top box communicates to the network service provider througha standard POTS modem that operates on a shared telephone line in ahousehold, the set top box 10 must first wait for an appropriate time toinitiate a connection to the television network. The set top box 10 mayinitially be configured to place telephone calls at times when it wouldbe unlikely for a telephone line to be in use in a household (e.g.,between the hours of 2 am and 4 am). Before placing a telephone callwith the telephone modem 14, the set top box system must then checkwhether the telephone line is presently in use. If the telephone line isbusy, the system will wait until the line is no longer occupied beforeconnecting with the network service provider.

A method according to a further alternative embodiment for storingcommercials into a set top box that are received via the satellite/cabletelevision network is now described with reference to FIG. 3. The CPU inset top box 10 of FIG. 1 waits until a download signal is received anddecoded in MPEG-2 decoder 13 a, in step 30. A channel is reserved by thebroadcast network that only broadcasts commercials to be downloaded forlocal storage in set top boxes. The set top box may be configured todetect download signals during times when it is not in use. In thealternative, the set top box may include a separate decoder forreceiving and storing incoming commercials while a user is watchingtelevision.

The set top box receives commercial identification and type informationin step 31. If it is determined in step 32 that it is appropriate forthe set top box to store commercials of the identified type, the systemdetermines in step 33 whether the particular, identified commercialalready has been stored. If not, the commercial data is received in step34 and recorded into set top box memory and the header database in steps35 and 36, respectively.

FIG. 4 provides an example of a header database/commercial info nationtable 18 a that is stored in the local memory of set top box 10 ofFIG. 1. The header database/commercial information table is used to givethe set top box information necessary for recording, storage, andplayback of commercials. As can be seen, the header database may includea plurality of fields. A “Commercial ID” field (4 bytes) uniquelyidentifies the stored commercial. A “Length” field (2 bytes) indicatesthe length of the commercial in milliseconds. A “Sponsor Name” field (20bytes) provides a NULL terminated ASCII string of a sponsor name. A“Pricing” field (4 bytes, not shown in FIG. 4) indicates the price rangeof the product. The two most significant bytes indicate the upper end ofthe range (in dollars) and the least two significant bytes indicate thelower end of the range (in dollars).

The commercial information table may also include a field for “Number ofRelevant Areas” (2 bytes, not shown in FIG. 4). This field indicates ifthe stored commercial is relevant over the entire broadcast area, oronly in a local area. When this value is zero, the commercial is validover the entire broadcast area. When this value is any other number, itindicates that the commercial is valid only in a list of areas providedin a subsequent field in the table. A “Relevant Areas” field (not shownin FIG. 4) is a list of broadcast areas for a particular commercial. Abroadcast area is defined by the network in accordance with the size ofthe network and the size of the area divisions needed. Zip codes,cities, or latitude/longitude/radius sets can be used for this field.

The “Content Type” field (20 bytes, not shown in FIG. 4) describes thecontent type, and helps the set top box to categorize a commercial. Thisvalue should be used with bitmasks to categorize the commercial in ahierarchical fashion. That way, if a set top box cannot find an exactmatch for a commercial, it can find the closest match. The most generalcategory types should be masked with high order bits, while the mostspecific category types should be masked with low order bits. A value ofzero should be used for each masked field to indicate “any” or “don'tcare.” Content types match closely when the most number of lower orderbits match (a match is considered true when the masked fields are thesame, or one or the other is set to 0). As an example of usage for thisfield, the two most significant bits of the content type value mayindicate the gender target of the commercial (0=any, 1=male, 2=female),the next four most significant bits may indicate the age target (0=any,1=0-3,2=3-6, etc.), the next eight most significant bits may indicate ageneral theme (0=any, 1=sports, 2=electronics, 3=automobile, etc.), thenext eight most significant bytes may indicate a more specific subset ofthe general theme, and so on.

According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, the headerdatabase may also include fields that track or provide an indication ofthe effectiveness of the television commercial. Such fields may includethe number of seconds that a commercial was viewed during the mostrecent playback before the user switched channels or the number of timesthat a commercial was viewed at full length. Tracking information thatis stored in the header database also may be used internally by the settop box CPU in determining when a particular commercial is to beinserted, or whether an ineffective commercial should be deleted fromthe database. Such tracking information can also be communicated back tothe network service provider via modem 14, and can be categorized andreported to corporate sponsors and television advertisers. Additionally,the information can be used by networks in marketing television programsto advertisers.

The process of inserting a locally stored television commercial into thebroadcast stream on a set top box is now described with reference toFIG. 5. As signals are received for the broadcast television program instep 50, the commercials detector 17 waits in step 51 for a signal fromthe network to insert a locally stored commercial. If, in step 52, thetelevision set top box detects a signal indicating that the set top boxcan substitute a locally stored commercial instead of a commercial thatis to be broadcast through the network, the CPU begins receiving searchcriteria in step 53 to locate an appropriate substitute commercial. Asan example, among other criteria, the set top box may receiveinformation indicating the length of the commercial that is to besubstituted.

In step 54, the CPU 13 searches the header database for an appropriatecommercial stored in the commercials database to insert into thebroadcast stream. The search is conducted based upon information that isalready known to the set top box and criteria that is supplied to theset top box in step 53. Many factors may be included in the algorithm bywhich the header database is searched to identify an appropriatecommercial, including but not limited to: the type of television programbeing viewed; the corporate sponsor of the television program; the typesof commercials already broadcast during the program; the hour of the dayand the day of the week of the program; and the frequency by which eachstored commercial has been inserted. The application of some of thesefactors to the search algorithm is now described.

The television networks may determine what types of commercials areappropriate for each type of television program (e.g., a sports drinkcommercial is not likely to be appropriate for a soap opera televisionprogram). This information may be communicated to the set top box by anyof a variety of methods. As one possibility, the television network maybroadcast an encoded signal at the beginning of each commercial breakthat indicates the types of locally stored commercials that may beappropriate for insertion. As an alternative, the television network mayperiodically transmit via modem such information for an entireprogramming schedule for storage in the memory of the set top box. Usingthis information, the set top box will only choose from locally storedtelevision commercials that are of a type that corresponds with thetelevision program.

In some circumstances, an advertiser restricts a television network frombroadcasting commercials of rival or competitor companies during thesame television program. An advertiser may additionally require that thenetwork refrain from broadcasting commercials that may otherwise seeminappropriate to the advertiser's intended audience (e.g., a juvenileproducts company may not wish to advertise during a television programthat also includes alcohol advertisements). If an advertiser identifiescompetitors and other companies with which it does not desire to beaffiliated, this information can then be transmitted during thebeginning of a commercial or a commercial break, or can be alsoperiodically stored in the memory of the set top box. The televisioncommercials that are locally stored in the set top box may include inthe header database the names of rival or competitor companies. Duringsearches for appropriate, locally stored commercials, the set top boxdetermines whether the corporate sponsorship of any of the commercialsis in conflict with that of other commercials that are pre-designated tobe played during the program.

As additional search criteria, the set top box may also consider thefrequency or how recently each stored commercial has been inserted. If alocally stored commercial matches other criteria, but already has beeninserted within the hour, it is likely to be disregarded by the set topbox user. Similarly, the system may be configured to favor commercialsthat have not been frequently inserted when choosing between a pluralityof otherwise appropriate commercials.

As can be seen, there are an infinite number of factors that can beincorporated as search criteria for identifying appropriate commercialsfor insertion and substitution into a broadcast stream. Many of thesefactors may be devised by the television network pursuant to advertisingcontracts with particular sponsors. For example, an automobile companymay be determine that advertising is more effective when a nationaladvertisement for the company is followed by a local advertisement for aparticipating automobile dealership. In such case, the automobilecompany or the corresponding automobile dealership may be amenable topaying higher fees for advertising time when the two advertisements areshown in combination. In these circumstances, the search criteria in theset top box will favor such combinations in order to maximize networkrevenue.

After performing a search in step 54 for an appropriate commercial thatis locally stored in the set top box, the system next determines in step55 whether any such commercial is available. If no locally storedcommercial in the set top box adequately satisfies the search criteria,the set top box continues with the regularly scheduled televisioncommercial broadcast by the network, and waits for another commercialbreak signal in step 51. If an appropriate commercial is available, theMPEG-2 decoder 13 a in CPU 13 in step 56 disconnects from the incomingencoded stream and directly connects to commercials database 18. Thetelevision now shows the locally stored commercial instead of thecommercial that is broadcast over the network in step 57. At theconclusion of the commercial, the CPU 13 again switches to decode theincoming encoded signal in step 58. In step 59, the record in the headerdatabase associated with the commercial that was played is updated. Inaddition to the method described with reference to FIG. 5 fortemporarily disconnecting the broadcast signal from the television,there are many other possible methods of interrupting the broadcast toinsert the locally stored commercial in the place of the commercialbroadcast by the network. The broadcast can be interrupted through aswitch or any series of conventional logic gates.

An example of the method for inserting a locally stored televisioncommercial is now described with reference to FIG. 6. In this example,an individual is watching a football game via a set top box receiver fordigital satellite television. The set top box detects a signalindicating that a commercial slot is available for inserting a locallystored commercial for a local business. The signal also indicates thatthe network is broadcasting a commercial for “Alco,” a nationally knownalcoholic beer, and the “Force” automobile company during the samecommercial break. Finally, the signal also lists the types of locallystored commercials that would be appropriate for this time slot, whichinclude: local automotive dealerships; local alcohol distributors orretailers; local financial services companies; local hardware/homeimprovement stores; local sporting goods stores; or local restaurants.

The viewer of the football game in this example is a part of a familythat includes a young married male, a young married female, an infantchild, and a dog. Based upon surveys and questionnaires that wereanswered during configuration of the cable or satellite televisionsystem, the cable or satellite television network provider has learnedof the interests and buying habits of members of the family. Using thisinformation, the system can determine the types of commercials to bedownloaded for local storage in the set top box. In this example,commercials are stored in the set top box for automotive dealerships,day care centers, jewelry stores, remodeling companies, fine artgalleries, baby toy stores, and baby clothing stores.

The set top box performs a search for local commercials stored in thecommercials database, first eliminating all commercials that are not ofthe required type. As shown in FIG. 6, the search results show fourcommercials that are of one of the allowable types. Of the fourcommercials, one commercial is for a beer distributor for a competitorof “Alco” and another commercial is for a “Force” automotive dealershipthat restricts the network from advertising during the same commercialbreak with a beer advertisement. These are also eliminated aspossibilities for insertion into the broadcast.

Of the remaining two eligible commercials in local storage, one is foranother local “Force” automobile dealership and the other is for a localkitchen/bath remodeling company. The header database indicates that the“Force” dealership commercial has been played often within the pastseveral weeks, but the local kitchen/bath remodeling advertisement hasreceived little airtime. In choosing between the eligible commercials, adetermination algorithm programmed into the CPU can include a weightingfeature for determining priority based upon a number of factors,including the frequency by which a commercial has been inserted, theprice paid by an advertiser, the expiration date of the advertisingcontract, and the correlation between the product advertised in thecommercial and the subject matter of the television program. Theweighting of these factors can be determined or customized by thenetwork. Based upon the algorithm as configured for the present example,the commercial for the local kitchen/bath remodeling company is insertedinto the broadcast stream through the set top box. The header databasethen adds the airplay information to the record associated with thecommercial, adjusting the frequency associated with the commercial, and,if appropriate, generating billing information for use by the network.

Accordingly, the set top box of the present disclosure for insertinglocally stored commercials into a viewer's broadcast stream allows abroadcast network to provide commercials that are more personalized to aparticular user's interests and buying habits. The system can alsoselect commercials for local and regional companies that are located inthe immediate vicinity of the viewer. The commercials that are stored inthe set top box are organized in a header database according to type,length, expiration, frequency of airtime, and a plurality of otherfactors to enable the set top box to insert an appropriate and effectivecommercial. Thus, it is readily seen that the method and system of thepresent disclosure provides for improved advertising, and maximizes thevalue of advertising time during breaks in television programming.

The description provided above for inserting locally storedadvertisements can also be applied to other forms of media. For example,advertisements can be audio signals for broadcast radio, in which radioadvertisements can be locally stored in radio receivers, such as homestereos, automobile radios, etc. Advertisements can also be locallystored in personal digital assistants, cellular or digital wirelesstelephones, or pagers, in addition to television set top boxes.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided with the understanding thatit will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, variousfeatures may be grouped together or described in a single embodiment forthe purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to beinterpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodimentsrequire more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather,as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter may bedirected to less than all of the features of any of the disclosedembodiments.

The above-disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall withinthe scope of the disclosure. Thus, to the maximum extent allowed by law,the scope of the disclosure is to be determined by the broadestpermissible interpretation of the following claims and theirequivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoingdetailed description.

1. A method comprising: detecting, at a set top box device, asubstitution signal; in response to detecting the substitution signal,inserting an advertisement into a media stream; and determining, at theset top box device, an advertising fee associated with insertion of theadvertisement into the media stream, wherein the advertising fee is afirst fee when the advertisement is a local advertisement for a providerof a product or service and the advertisement is to be inserted at afirst location in the media stream that follows a national advertisementfor the product or service, and wherein the first fee is higher than asecond fee that is associated with insertion of the local advertisementat a second location in the media stream.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the advertisement is selected from a plurality of advertisementsstored at a memory of the set top box device.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein the plurality of advertisements are received at the set top boxdevice via at least one of a wired connection and a wireless connection.4. The method of claim 2, further comprising selecting the advertisementfrom among the plurality of advertisements based at least in part on afrequency of insertion associated with each of the plurality ofadvertisements stored at the memory.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereinadvertisements associated with a low frequency of insertion are favoredover advertisements associated with a higher frequency of insertion. 6.The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting the advertisementat a display device coupled to the set top box device.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, further comprising: receiving at least a portion of the mediastream at the set top box device prior to detecting the substitutionsignal, wherein the substitution signal is included in the media stream;and presenting the at least a portion of the media stream at the displaydevice, wherein inserting the advertisement into the media streamincludes substituting the advertisement for another advertisementincluded in the received portion of the media stream in response todetecting the substitution signal.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst fee is higher than a third fee that is associated with insertionof another advertisement at the first location in the media stream.
 9. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructionsthat, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to execute amethod comprising: detecting a substitution signal; in response todetecting the substitution signal, inserting an advertisement into amedia stream; and determining an advertising fee associated withinsertion of the advertisement into the media stream, wherein theadvertising fee is a first fee when the advertisement is a localadvertisement for a provider of a product or service and theadvertisement is to be inserted at a first location in the media streamthat follows a national advertisement for the product or service, andwherein the first fee is higher than a second fee that is associatedwith insertion of the local advertisement at a second location in themedia stream.
 10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 9, wherein the media stream is associated with one of a televisionbroadcast, a satellite broadcast, and a radio broadcast.
 11. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein thefirst fee is higher than a third fee that is associated with insertionof another advertisement at the first location in the media stream. 12.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9, whereinthe media stream includes audiovisual data interleaved withnon-audiovisual data.
 13. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 9, the method further comprising selecting theadvertisement from among a plurality of advertisements stored at amemory of a set top box device prior to inserting the advertisement intothe media stream.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium of claim 13, wherein the advertisement is selected from among theplurality of advertisements based on a sequence of advertisements thatis determined to increase fee income.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the advertisementis selected from among the plurality of advertisements based on afrequency of insertion associated with each of the plurality ofadvertisements stored at the set top box device.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein advertisementsassociated with a low frequency of insertion are favored overadvertisements associated with a higher frequency of insertion.
 17. Aset top box device comprising: a receiver configured to receive a mediastream from a media content source; a memory configured to store aplurality of advertisements; and a processor configured to: detect asubstitution signal embedded in the media stream, wherein thesubstitution signal indicates that an advertisement is to be insertedinto the media stream; select a particular advertisement to be insertedinto the media stream, wherein the particular advertisement is selectedfrom among the plurality of advertisements; and generate billinginformation based on the particular advertisement selected for insertioninto the media stream, wherein the billing information identifies anadvertising fee associated with insertion of the particularadvertisement into a particular location in the media stream, whereinthe advertising fee is a first fee when the particular advertisement isa local advertisement for a provider of a product or service and theparticular advertisement is to be inserted at a first location in themedia stream that follows a national advertisement for the product orservice, and wherein the first fee is higher than a second fee that isassociated with insertion of the local advertisement at a secondlocation in the media stream.
 18. The set top box device of claim 17,further comprising switching logic configured to initiate presentationof the particular advertisement at a display device coupled to the settop box device in response to detection of the substitution signal,wherein the particular advertisement is substituted for anotheradvertisement included in the media stream.
 19. The set top box deviceof claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to select theparticular advertisement from among the plurality of advertisementsbased on information included in the substitution signal.
 20. The settop box device of claim 17, wherein the first fee is higher than a thirdfee that is associated with insertion of another advertisement at thefirst location in the media stream.